Samsung Electronics about to reach wage agreement

The flag of Samsung hangs in front of a building in the Samsung Town office park in Seocho District, Seoul, in this 2020 file photo. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

By Park Jae-hyuk

Samsung Electronics is on the brink of settling the first-ever collective bargaining agreement over wages in its 52-year history.

A representative from one of four Samsung Electronics unions said Sunday that the conglomerate's unionized workers started voting a day earlier on the management's final proposal for 2021 wages, submitted last Friday to the four unions.

"The result of the vote is expected to come out Monday afternoon," he said.

Although the details of the proposal remain yet to be known, company management reportedly refused to accept the request for an additional salary hike, citing the completion of last year's annual spending and investing.

Instead, the management is said to have promised to give employees more days off and to reform its peak wage system, which refers to a wage system that cuts salaries gradually for senior workers several years before retirement.

If the offer wins support votes from the majority of unionized workers with a voter turnout of at least 50 percent, union and management will be able to sign a final agreement following three months of wage negotiations.

"The final decision will be made after listening to the opinions of the workers," the union representative said.

Representatives from Samsung Electronics' union and management pose after signing a collective agreement at the company's factory in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in this August 2021 file photo. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Labor and management have met once a week since their wage negotiations started last October, based on the terms of their collective agreement signed last August ― the first in the company's history. Both sides have held 15 meetings concerning wage negotiations.

"We will sincerely participate in talks with the unionized workers in compliance with related procedures," a Samsung Electronics official said at that time.

Last year, the unionized workers asked for a 10 million won ($8,400) increase in each employee's annual salary and payment of a performance-based bonus equivalent to 25 percent of the conglomerate's operating profit. They also wanted management to provide each employee with treasury stocks worth 1.07 million won and a 3.5 million won incentive.

Management has reiterated that it is difficult to raise employee salaries further, given that the company's joint labor-management council already agreed last March to raise the base salary for 2021 by 4.5 percent and the performance-based bonus by 3 percent.

The unionized workers have complained about management's refusal to increase their salaries. However, the plans to reform the vacation and peak wage systems were recognized by the employees, according to sources.

Since Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong declared the abolition of the conglomerate's no-union management policy in 2020, the unionized workers have been flexing their muscles against management. Last July, Samsung Display's labor and management also agreed to a 4.5 percent wage increase from the previous year, after workers went on strike for the first time in the history of Samsung's affiliates.

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